Our Story

 
Hello, My name is Tara, Owner and Curator of Lia Fáil Designs. My Business name is a homage to my Irish roots.  Lia Fáil is the standing Stone of Destiny that sits atop the Hill of Tara, a place of legends.
We are a small art studio in Etobicoke, a suburb just on the edge of the big city of Toronto. I’m a mom to two empowered young teens, living the creative life.
My favourite mediums used to be watercolour and ink, but I am currently loving more flat vector style illustrations and art.
We largely work with a hand-drawn sketches to start and then bring the art into digital format for creating our patterns and our stationary.

My Journey to Surface Pattern Design and Graphic Design

I was always a doodler throughout school. Nothing elaborate; there was no Picasso pictures to speak of. Not. A. One. At least that I can remember. I fancied trying all different ways of handwriting, and would write things out over and over in different styles.

Fast-forward through elementary, high school, college and some uni, I became an entrepreneur running my own business and on that journey, I realized that I had a gap in my knowledge and experience, so I abandoned being an entrepreneur.

I took a 9-5 job and did that for a number of years. Some of it was good, but I mostly learned that I was more an entrepreneur then an employee.

Then I got married, had my daughters and it was in this stage of my life that I jumped into being an entrepreneur again. I reinvented myself, and learned so many new skills. All the while, doodling and telling elaborate stories I made up in my head to my girls for story time. 

Then the world changed and I homeschooled my girls for 2 and a half years. I started learning illustrator, photoshop, and then Procreate.  My doodles and handwriting started to have a purpose, and then I learned about Surface Pattern Design and fell head over heels in love.

Find us on Instagram and Pinterest @liafaildesigns

Favorite Pattern: Habitat with my Butterfly Garden a close second.

 

I am interested in collaborating with you! I find the world a wondrous place when you put images, pattern & product together.

I welcome licensing opportunities and commissions so if you are interested in working together, please get in touch via email to hello@shopliafail.com or via the form below.

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